NATIONAL VIDEO

Man drowns near Holiday Marina

A 49-year-old Atlanta man drowned Saturday in Lake Lanier, the seventh death of the year on the lake and the fifth in nine days.

The name of the victim was withheld Saturday pending notification of next of kin.

Hall County Fire Services Capt. Scott Cagle said 911 was called shortly after 12:15 p.m. Saturday for an emergency in a small cove across from Holiday Marina in South Hall.

Three men from the Atlanta area were fishing off the shore when one of the men decided to go for a swim, Cagle said. The man swam about 20 yards from the shore before he became distressed and yelled for help, Cagle said.

Another man swam out to help him but was unsuccessful. The victim went under and did not resurface.

It took members of the Hall County Fire Marine Rescue Team about 45 minutes to recover the drowning victim, who was in waters thick with vegetation about 12 feet deep, Cagle said.

The body was pulled from the lake at about 1:40 p.m.

There have been four drownings and three boating fatalities on Lake Lanier this year, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Four people drowned in the lake last weekend, although two of the deaths were listed as boating fatalities because the men jumped from a pontoon boat, officials.

Last year there were in eight drownings and three boating fatalities on Lake Lanier.